Friday, November 15, 2013

Beyond the Trophy: More Reasons to Enter Station/Personality of the Year Competitions

A while back I posted 5 reasons why your station should
enter Station/Personality of the Year competitions (click to read).

Here are three more just in time for the Academy of Country Music’s Station of the
Year and On-Air Personality of the Year competition which is open for submissions through December 6th (get information here or give me a call, text or email).

1. As a programmer, putting together a ‘best of’
audio, ratings, and community service presentation makes you think about how
compelling your station/show actually is. What are the stand-out aspects? Are
there opportunities to further leverage your strengths and do what you do best
even more frequently? Does your talent shine and are they sufficiently
showcased? What community efforts have you led that are so unique and
meaningful to your listeners that awards judges will be impressed? How are your
ratings vs. one year ago and beyond? Win or not, you can use the time you spend
entering an award competition to help create an even better station or show –
something that pays benefits all year long.

2. Relatedly, use your presentation as a coaching
and leadership tool to challenge the entire staff. For every event in the coming year, challenge co-workers to help make it bigger, better, or improved in some meaningful way. Remind the
staff of the challenge throughout the year by using it as a theme for meetings
or by publicly acknowledging co-workers for special efforts. You’ll reap a product benefit while making
your next submission a true collective undertaking that all can take pride in.

3. Re-purpose your presentation to create a
multi-media sales piece. Add video from your talent, PD, GM and SM. You can
even embed a sales contest at the end of the video to encourage viewership and
interaction. Create an edited version and post on YouTube for listeners and
fans.

It’s a great honor to take home the trophy of course. But
you’re also a winner just by participating in the process.

I hope you enter.

Congraulations to KUZZ AM/FM, Bakersfield, the reigning ACM Radio Station of the Year/Medium Market. The team is shown above including Jerry Hufford (second from left), Tom Jordan, Toni-Marie, and Mel Owens along with Gary Allan.